Yan Pascal Leads Baltimore Symphony

With its grand and often forceful themes, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 reflects the discord of early 19th-century Europe. Written in 1809 as Napoleon Bonaparte's army attacked Beethoven's home city of Vienna, the sobriquet "Emperor" does not refer to Emperor Napoleon himself, whom Beethoven had come to despise. Rather, it is said that upon hearing the expansive work, an officer in Napoleon's army was so moved that he jumped up and exclaimed, "This is the emperor!" Beethoven, an accomplished keyboardist in his own right, never performed his final Piano Concerto, as his deafness had progressed too far by the time the work premiered in 1810.

Commenting on his Symphony No. 4, the 20th-century British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams said, "I don't know whether I like it, but it's what I meant." Despite the composer's own ambivalence, the audience greeted this dramatic and modern work-so different from his earlier, more lyrical compositions-with near-hysteric enthusiasm at its 1936 premiere. Marked by an unsettling, distressed tone, aggressive rhythms and sustained dissonances, Vaughan William's fourth symphony has been interpreted as a portent of World War II, though the composer himself vigorously denied such intentions. He did, however, unabashedly admit to "cribbing" from great composers, including Beethoven, when he wrote Symphony No. 4, considered his finest symphonic work.

Opening the program is Hector Berlioz's Roman Carnival Overture, premiered under the baton of the composer himself in Paris in 1844. Refashioned from his failed opera Benvenuto Cellini, the energetic work conjures the romance of Rome with spirited carnival music and tender melodies.

Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor

Born into an intensely musical family, son of the late Paul Tortelier, conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier studied piano and violin from the age of four and, at 14, won first prize for violin at the Paris Conservatoire. Following general musical studies with Nadia Boulanger, Tortelier studied conducting with Franco Ferrara in Siena.

In recognition of his outstanding work as Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic between 1992 and 2003, Yan Pascal Tortelier has been given the title of the Conductor Laureate and continues working with the Orchestra regularly. This season Yan Pascal Tortelier commenced the position of Principal Guest Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

During recent seasons Yan Pascal Tortelier has worked with such orchestras as the London Symphony, Philharmonia and London Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, St Petersburg Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Filarmonica della Scala Milan, Radio Filharmonische Orkest Holland, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and in North America with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco, Baltimore and Pittsburgh Symphony orchestras, Montreal Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra. This season Yan Pascal Tortelier commenced the position of Principal Guest Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Horacio Gutiérrez, piano

Considered among today's foremost pianists, Horacio Gutiérrez is consistently praised by critics and audiences alike for the poetic insight and technical mastery he brings to a diverse repertoire. Since his professional debut in 1970 with Zubin Mehta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mr. Gutiérrez has appeared regularly with the world's greatest orchestras and on its major recital series.

In recent seasons, Mr. Gutiérrez has given recitals at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Berlin's Philharmonie, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival and New York's Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. He also toured Japan with Mstislav Rostropovich and the National Symphony Orchestra and has appeared with Lorin Maazel and the Bavarian Radio Orchestra in performances of the two Brahms piano concertos.

A favorite of New York concertgoers, Mr. Gutiérrez has performed on numerous occasions at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall and Carnegie Hall in recital and with orchestra. He is also a frequent soloist at the Mostly Mozart Festival and has appeared on its season-opening Live from Lincoln Center telecast. In 1982, he was the recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize.

Mr. Gutiérrez is a strong advocate of contemporary American composers. Of special importance were his performances of William Schuman's Piano Concerto in honor of the composer's 75th birthday at New York's 92nd Street Y and of André Previn's Piano Concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony with Mr. Previn conducting.

Born in Havana, Cuba, Horacio Gutiérrez appeared at the age of 11 as guest soloist with the Havana Symphony. He became an American citizen in 1967. A graduate of the Juilliard School, he resides in New York City. -- www.baltimoresymphony.org